Biomedical applications of polyurethane materials and coatings

Abstract

Polyurethanes (PUs), formed by the reaction of diisocyanates with polyols (or equivalent) in the presence of a catalyst, have a wide variety of industrial uses. Much recent attention has focused on their biomedical applications, owing to their biocompatibility, biodegradability and tailorable chemical and physical forms. Examples of such application areas include antibacterial surfaces and catheters, drug delivery vehicles, stents, surgical dressings/pressure sensitive adhesives, tissue engineering scaffolds and electrospinning, nerve generation, cardiac patches and PU coatings for breast implants. Following a brief introduction to PUs, this review surveys selected articles, mostly from 2014 to 2017, that highlight this diverse range of biomedical applications offered by PU materials and coatings.

Replication of annulus fibrosus through fabrication and characterization of polyurethane and cellulose nanocrystal composite scaffolds

“…[23][24][25][27][28][29][30] In particular, polyurethane has become a wellknown biomedical material due to its resilience to corrosion and abrasion, durability, elastomeric properties, fatigue resistance, and biocompatibility. [31][32][33] As well, it can be combined with different fillers or natural cells/tissues to form versatile composites, in which mechanical and biochemical properties can be finely tuned to adapt to vast potential medical applications. 32,33 With the amount of effected population, medical costs associated with disc degeneration, and current treatment options posing multiple limitations to patients, a new solution to AF repair and IVD replacement has been proved essential.…”

Characterization of drug delivery vehicles using atomic force microscopy: current status

“…Nanofibre mats produced from electrospinning are very attractive as delivery vehicles since they are biodegradable and biocompatible [90][91][92]. They are also very attractive due to their huge surface areato-volume ratio [93].…”

Preparation and Evaluation of Nanofibrous Hydroxypropyl Cellulose and β-Cyclodextrin Polyurethane Composite Mats

“…Nowadays, a large variety of polymers can be electrospun and the nanofibers from these polymer solutions have been used in various applications. Among them, polyurethanes are an important and versatile class of polymers that have found widespread applications in biomedical field [10]. Generally, polyurethane based materials are widely used in coatings [11], paints [12], foams [13], elastomers [14][15][16], adhesives [17] and medical devices [18][19][20].…”